Title : Disparities in Receiving Depression Treatment in US Patients with COPD
Abstract:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a growing public health problem in in US. Depression is a common mental health problem accompanied by a high degree of emotional distress and functional impairment. More than one third of patients with COPD experience comorbid depression. Aims of this presentation are to describe burden of depression in patients with COPD, disparity in management of depression in COPD, and potential interventions and challenges to reduce the disparity in US. Anxiety and depression lead to worse health outcomes, including impaired health-related quality of life, increased mortality risk, health care utilization and costs in patients with COPD. There is a growing consensus that the therapeutic focus in COPD should move beyond disease modification and survival alone, and include assessment and improvement of patient-centered outcomes, including health status and psychological health. Despite the high prevalence of depression in patients with COPD and the beneficial effect of depression treatment, there are disproportions of subgroup CODP patients who are less likely to receive depression treatment such as antidepressant and psychotherapy, especially in racial/ethnic groups and living in rural areas. The governments and policymakers are keen to promote policies and interventions that integrate physical and mental health care, leading to improved patient outcomes, improve access to mental health care, reduced unnecessary hospital admission and emergency room visit, and reduced health care costs. Implementation of optimal approaches for managing depression in COPD remains many challenges in the field.